The Reality Diary

68Trebor

  Oh Nooooo, I hear you shout, here comes that muppet Trebor68 again, with yet another attempt at a diary.

 Well yes I am afraid it is.

 But why bother yet again I hear you say. It will only last a couple of weeks and then he will dissappear again.

 My honest intentions this time are to be committed to this diary and to SkyPoker. 

 I have over the past few months flitted from one site to another, made money playing cash on some, lost  money playing cash on some, made money playing MTT's on some, lost money playing MTT's on some, dabbled at Omaha and Omahah HI-LO, even considered playing Backgammon online. I have become I am embarrassed to say a bit of a pokers**g. I don't know whether it is my age and is some sort of mid life online crisis or whether I have a bit of gypsy blood in me. I have, however, now come to the following conclusions.

 1. It is time to grow up.

 2. It is time to be faithful.

 3. It is time to realise I'm not going to make a fortune playing poker.

 4. I don't have the temperament for cash.

 5. I need to be far stricter with my bankroll.

 6. I cannot cope with mass multi-tabling.

 7. I am not going to let poker take over my every free hour of the day.

 So I am going to restart my diary as I have always found they do focus me and help me stick to the rules I am about to set myself. If you want to follow it welcome aboard, if you don't I won't be offended as the diary is really for my benefit.

 So the rules.

 1. Only play when I really, really have the time and motivation. At times poker has become a habit and a grind. Remember it's not a job it's supposed to be something I do in my spare time as entertainment.

 2. Only play MTT's. No cash, DYM's, SNG's or All-In Satellites. I enjoy MTT's more than any other form of poker and having played mainly cash for the past 3 years, as this is what true poker players are supposed to do, I need to remember rule 1.

 3. Never play a MTT with a buy in bigger than £11. I am free to play Rebuy MTT's but must not invest more than £11 in any one MTT. I am free to play satellites as long as buy in is no more than £11.

 4. Never play more than 2 tables at a time. I have often 4-tabled and believe that I miss loads of opportunities as not giving my full atttention all the time.

 5. Only play on SkyPoker. The bigger sites tend to tempt me with their £1m prize pools, 100% reload bonuses etc.

 So there it is simple.

 I have deposited £100, yes I know this is nowhere near enough to be playing £11 MTT's but it is not my full roll and is just a starting point. 

 

 Bankroll £100

 Profit £0

 

 

mewillows

Goooood luck sir

Lambert180

Sounds like a great set of rules to stick to.

Good luck!

walesboy

good luck

68Trebor

 So Day 1 is now complete. Played in 4 MTT's and played OK.

 £4K Rebuy Main Event - Never really got going and with no rebuy available, got to stick to the rules, it was always going to be a bit of a struggle unless I got off to a decent start. Finished 210/251.

 £2k Rebuy mini event - Held my own until the addon and took this as it kept me within the rules. Did OK but nothing special. Finished 77/230.

 8.30pm £1k BH - .Was going along really quite nicely and then made a big error that cost me my tournament, see hand below. Managed 1 bounty for £3.25. Finished 28/115.
 £500 Blizzard Bounty Hunter - Was short stack with 3 to go to the bubble and managed to sneak through the bubble. Then got up to 3rd place by playing aggresively on final table, before crashing out in 6th as blinds made it a game of shove/fold. Finsihed 6/43 for a cash of £23.70

 

Player	Action	Cards	Amount	Pot	Balance
stollen	Small blind		150.00	150.00	10483.36
theduck117	Big blind		300.00	450.00	3215.00
	Your hole cards	Q A
SHIRLEY457	Fold
Hitmebabe	Fold
68Trebor	Raise		600.00	1050.00	2947.50
stollen	Fold
theduck117	Call		300.00	1350.00	2915.00
Flop
		8 8 K
theduck117	All-in		2915.00	4265.00	0.00
68Trebor	Call		2915.00	7180.00	32.50
theduck117	Show	K 10
68Trebor	Show	Q A
Turn
		4
River
		5
theduck117	Win	Two Pairs, Kings and 8s	7180.00		7180.00

 Off to Caernarfon tomorrow night for a long weekend so may not play again until Monday, unless I get to fit a quick game in tomorrow. Planning in going up Snowdon, look round the castle, trip to Anglesey and then visiting Maritime museum in Liverpool on way home Sunday. Hoping the sun continues to shine and really looking forward to trying a few Welsh beers. 

 MTT's Played 4
 Bankroll £83.45
 Profit -£16.55
 ROI -37.6%
 ITM% 25.0%

Donttelmum

gl buddy

Lambert180

FWIW, that hand above i just open jam pre from the button with 12xBB jamming into a 10xBB stack in the BB. If he still calls, ul you lose a 60/40, if he folds you add about 15% to your stack

68Trebor

In Response to Re: The Reality Diary:

FWIW, that hand above i just open jam pre from the button with 12xBB jamming into a 10xBB stack in the BB. If he still calls, ul you lose a 60/40, if he folds you add about 15% to your stack
Posted by Lambert180

 Get what your saying but my thinking was he would never flat call. I would expect him to either fold or shove. Either of which I would be happy with. My mistake was in calling his shove post flop. Really thought he didn't have it as in that situation I would be c-betting 100% of time and if I were in his shoes I would wait for me to make that move before calling the all-in.

 Perhaps everyone isn't as sneaky as me.

 Lesson to learn is that some people just play dead straightforward.

68Trebor

 Played 7 MTT's this morning ranging from £30 Velocity to £500 BH's. 

 Didn't do that well, managed 2nd in £30 Velocity but had a loss of £30ish across the 7.

 I could now proceed to post a whole host of bad beats, but wouldn't want to bore you all to death.

 What I will post is the 1 hand below. This hand has summed up what I have found out this morning. 

 The standard of play in these small buy in / guaranteed MTT's on Sky is pretty bad. This hand is typical of what I have experienced all morning. That is obviously great news for me as I honestly know that I will have an edge in these MTT's and when variance levels out I will make a nice small profit. 

 

Player	Action	Cards	Amount	Pot	Balance
willshir06	Small blind		25.00	25.00	3265.00
maxscarm15	Big blind		50.00	75.00	2240.00
	Your hole cards	10 A
Wilko_10	Call		50.00	125.00	1545.00
c_h_r_i_s	Fold
68Trebor	Raise		200.00	325.00	4890.00
willshir06	Call		175.00	500.00	3090.00
maxscarm15	Call		150.00	650.00	2090.00
Wilko_10	Call		150.00	800.00	1395.00
Flop
		2 3 Q
willshir06	Check
maxscarm15	Check
Wilko_10	Check
68Trebor	Bet		400.00	1200.00	4490.00
willshir06	Call		400.00	1600.00	2690.00
maxscarm15	Fold
Wilko_10	Fold
Turn
		A
willshir06	Bet		50.00	1650.00	2640.00
68Trebor	Raise		900.00	2550.00	3590.00
willshir06	Call		850.00	3400.00	1790.00
River
		10
willshir06	All-in		1790.00	5190.00	0.00
68Trebor	Call		1790.00	6980.00	1800.00
willshir06	Show	J K
68Trebor	Show	10 A
willshir06	Win	Straight to the Ace	6980.00		6980.00

  As I have previously said I am away this weekend and will return to battle on Monday. Off to study the runners and riders for tomorrows horse racing so I can get my Nap in to the Punter's challenge in the Punter's Corner section. Currently have 3 winners from 4 races and sitting just off the leaders. Have a good weekend all.

 MTT's Played 11

 Bankroll £52.05
 Profit -£47.95
 ROI -52.9%
 ITM% 18.2%

 

percival09

good luck sir. I'll miss having a sky poker friend on the tablez tho :-(

68Trebor

Be nice not to get coolered by you Matt.

Keep flying the SkyPoker flag on stars.

I will follow you on any big FT's, just let us know via twitter.

 So I walked to the highest point in Britain today.

Top of mount snowdon, for those who were wondering.

What can you say but 'stunningly beautiful' would love to post a pic but apparently too many kb or something.

Knackered now, but off to sample a few local ales to help recovery.

FCHD

Um, Snowdon isn't the highest point in Britiain. Ben Nevis is.

68Trebor

I would like to say I have climbed to the highest point in England and Wales.

Everyday's a school day.

devonfish5

gl sweety with your latest goals & diary....
it's always nice to follow other players progress and have something new to read about.
i'm sure with your aggressive b/roll strategy there will be alot of highs & lows...
hopefully the highs will be big ones for you when they come.
best of luck.

dev
ps; think conclusion no. 5 could be a bit of a problem for you...just my first thought.

bignoise10

All the very best man.

68Trebor

 So, I return from what has been a really nice weekend in Caernarfon North Wales, just me and the Mrs, no kids to be seen.

Would thoroughly recommend visiting as well worth it. Spent a day climbing to the top of Mount Snowdon which I found exhilirating. Then spent a day at Caernarfon Castle and Anglesey. Spent a couple of nights in The Black Boy trying a few beers. Would highly recommend the Snowdonian Ale brewed by The Purple Moose Brewery. Then returned home via Albert Dock visiting The Maritime Museum and Tate.

 So I fired up the laptop today after a little break raring to go and expecting to take SkyPoker by storm.

Oh Dear, Oh Dear. I don't know what has happened to me. I played terribly. I played in 5 MTT's, sticking to the rules I have set out and came nowhere near the money in any of them. Now this would be of no great concern normally as I understand variance, I also know I am not the best player in the world by a long way. But what is woorying me is I really didn't feel motivated to play or particularly seem bothered. I was, however, motivated when I first logged on but this soon dissappeared.

 Has this been caused by my rules.

 I have played in MTT's with big fields and huge first prizes and I am wondering if the small fields and related tiny first prizes are not floating my boat. Its probably a bit like playing in the FA Cup final one week and then playing a mid table clash in Division 1 the next week.

 Do I miss the constant momentum of the cash game compared to the relatively slow play of a MTT.

 Should I revert to playing more tables, this maybe an issue on SkyPoker as I struggle to play more than 2 tables without lagging, and if I am going to stick to MTT's the traffic on Sky would limit my ability to play e.g. 4 MTT's at my buyin levels at the same time.

 OH WHAT TO DO?

 All advice appreciated.

 MTT's Played 16

 Bankroll £15.27

 Profit -£84.73
 ROI -62.55%
 ITM% 12.50%

68Trebor

 Been on lates today so didn't get home till 10.30ish tonight.

Managed to play 1 MTT, the £11 £1k Bounty Hunter at 11pm.

Played OK and took 3 heads before crashing out in 31st.

This was the hand I went out on, comments would be greatly appreciated.

Player	Action	Cards	Amount	Pot	Balance
babyh07	Small blind		100.00	100.00	19620.00
68Trebor	Big blind		200.00	300.00	8847.75
	Your hole cards	9 8
EvilPingu	Fold
akvh	Fold
thebookie2	Fold
babyh07	Raise		300.00	600.00	19320.00
68Trebor	Call		200.00	800.00	8647.75
Flop
		2 10 7
babyh07	Bet		600.00	1400.00	18720.00
68Trebor	Raise		1600.00	3000.00	7047.75
babyh07	Raise		3400.00	6400.00	15320.00
68Trebor	All-in		7047.75	13447.75	0.00
babyh07	Call		4647.75	18095.50	10672.25
babyh07	Show	A A
68Trebor	Show	9 8
Turn
		A
River
		2
babyh07	Win	Full House, Aces and 2s	18095.50		28767.75

I am still not sure if MTT's are my future as watching the Sky Cash Game tonight I did feel I was missing out by sticking to MTT's and was very tempted to fire up the cash tables.

 MTT's Played 17

 Bankroll £16.46

 Profit -£83.54
 ROI -57.04%
 ITM% 11.76%

68Trebor

 Played another couple of £5.75 BH's this morning and came nowhere. I have revisited my conclusions and rules and have had a couple of thoughts.

 Playing solely MTT's does not really suit my lifestyle. I have 2 kids, a wife and work to contend with and finding 3 or 4 hr windows in my busy schedule is not that easy. This means I am currently sitting down to play an MTT and then something happens, kids need picking up from school, need to nip to shop for something, washing needs putting out, kids need help with homework, etc, etc. 

 I also have a lot of my free time during the day during the week, as I work in retail and I do 2 lates a week and also work a fair amount at the weekend. The MTT schedule and traffic on Sky means that during this free time there are not a lot of MTT's that really float my boat. Playing in MTT's where top prize is under £70 dosen't really do it for me. 

 I also once heard a saying 'rules are there to be broken'.

 I have, therefore, decided to abandon everything I said in the opening post.

 I am going to return to cash. I will, howvever, not be plying my trade on SkyPoker. With cash I will be 3/4 tabling and my laptop just doesn't seem to cope with that on SkyPoker. I will be playing on another English site, a well known bookmakers, where I have a 50% rakeback deal. This obviously makes a huge difference to my overall profit.  I will be starting out at 10nl (playing a combination of £'s and Euro's) and will be 3 tabling. I will be using very aggressive bankroll management starting out by depositing £60.

 I will continue with this diary on here, as long as the Mods allow it.

 Session Profit

 Session bb/100

 Net Profit

 Net bb/100

 Bankroll £60

 

68Trebor

 Played quite a big session and have to say really enjoyed the game. Quite amazed how often there is at least one player with a VPIP of 70% or more on each table. Struggled a bit to get used to only playing a £10/E10 stack, and still struggling to come to terms with this. Found 3 tabling and playing a TAG game worked well, must remember at this level to play pretty ABC and not to try bluffing people off relatively weak made hands.

 Session Hands 925

 Session Profit -$1.06

 Session BB/100 -0.80

 Session EV +$28.59

 Net Hands 925

 Net Profit -$1.06

 Net BB/100 -0.80

 Net EV +$28.59

 Bankroll £58.77

68Trebor

 Didn't play yesterday as got home from work and then went straight off to MEN at Manchester to watch Girls Aloud, took daughter and wife for cover, and only went as got 3 x free tickets. Have to say enjoyed the show and even caught myself singing along a couple of times. I was surprised at the make up of the audience, quite a lot of families and older couples there, thrown in with the expected mix of excitable teenagers and excitable grown men mincing around. All round good evening.

 Tonight I played my new found game of 10nl on my new site and played pretty well after quickly falling a buy in behind. Finding there are a lot of seemingly recreational players at this level on this site and I am finding it quite easy to 3-table with relative success. Only managed a short session as feeling very tired, must have been the excitement of last night catching up, and have work first thing in the morning so getting an early night. Will be looking to get an early night although this maybe easier said than done as 12yr old daughter has a friend sleeping over. They have already covered my garage and bathroom in paint as they try to buld a tardis for a school project. Anyway results to date below.

 Session Hands 317

 Session Profit -$2.46

 Session BB/100 -5.43

 Session EV -$6.97

 Net Hands 1242

 Net Profit -$3.51

 Net BB/100 -1.98

 Net EV +$21.61

 Bankroll £57.05

68Trebor

 Ever had the feeling you are treading water.

I have now played 2100 hands at 10nl since the beginning of my cash part of this diary and have lost 42c according to HEM. It makes you wonder what is the point, also makes the 50% RB absolutely essential if I am going to make a profit. I am currently running $40 worse than I should be due to the delights of variance, so long term should be able to start seeing a profit. I am, however, enjoying my poker at the mo and think I am really starting to get to grips with assigning players ranges and being prepared to fold good hands when I am probably behind. Also getting a lot better at picking out which players on the table to tangle with and which not to tangle with.

 Glad to see the Villa win yesterday and now think we have a good chance of avoiding the drop, wasn't thinking that when we went 1 goal down. Next Saturday is now critical, a win at home to QPR will give us a great chance of staying up.

 Session Hands 867

 Session Profit $3.06

 Session BB/100 2.47

 Session EV $20.96

 Net Hands 2109

 Net Profit -$0.46

 Net BB/100 -0.15

 Net EV $42.57

 Bankroll £58.91